Safe and Sound
by Know-It-All-2009
Summary: Auggie Anderson would do anything to keep Annie safe from those who would harm her... even if it meant going dark himself after all people will do anything for those they truly love. This is their story.
1. Two Months Dark

**Safe and Sound  
**_1. Two Months Dark_

Authoress Note: I got this idea while working on _Breathe_ and catching up on the current season of _Covert Affairs. _What if Annie had listened to Auggie when he begged her to come back to him? What would have happened? Well this is my idea of what would have, or could have, been if she had listened to his plea. I have twenty-two chapters planned so far and that is only the first part; I'm guessing this will roughly be thirty-five chapters before I swap to the sequel but we'll see.

This entire fan fiction is dedicated to **Marie King** for encouraging me through _Breathe. _ At the time of completion it was my longest fan fiction to date had 9 followers; 4 favorites and 5 reviews.

Thank you for encouraging me when no one else would Marie and I hope you enjoy _**Safe and Sound.**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs.

* * *

Annie Walker had been dead for almost two months now. Declared a rouge agent of the CIA her superior Calder had gunned her down in cold blood; of course it was after she had tried to kill him first but rouge agents weren't allowed within the CIA and everyone knew that.

It had been almost two months since Jessica Matthews started on a journey across the world looking for the information she needed to bring down Henry Wilcox. She was currently somewhere in Spain; she'd only been there a few hours and she needed to find somewhere to sleep for the night if she didn't want to sleep in the cold; for it being the end of February it wasn't warming up much. It took Jessica a few hours to find a town where she could blend in; even with her hair dyed a darker color. She was able to secure a room for cash with no questions and a hot meal before she began scouting out the town she was in. It wasn't where she needed to be by any means but, the body had to have sleep at some point before it shut down. She allowed herself a bath before putting on the one clean pair of clothes she had left; sleeping in clothes meant a quicker escape if it came down to it.

Sleep was hard to come by most nights as she listened to the sounds of people moving out and about in the towns which had made her start napping during the early morning hours and traveling in the late afternoon and at night. Buses seemed to run at all hours of the day and no one was alert enough to question a young woman traveling alone in Spain at that time of night. When she woke up six hours later she felt more rested than she had in weeks; a quick look out her window told her she had a few hours until the sun set which gave her plenty of time to get to the next town by sun rise. From there she would use her alias and take a flight to Russia and then onto Mongolia and from there take a bus to Hong Kong. She would be on the road for a week because of taking a bus but it was the safest way. Mongolia and Hong Kong didn't track their people that traveled by bus as strictly as they did their air travel and there wasn't a direct route from Mongolia to Hong Kong she would have to change buses at least once if not twice.

She still had close to two thousand in cash but that wasn't a lot. She thought maybe once she got to Mongolia she could lay low and pick up a job as a waitress for a few weeks to up her cash flow if she could find a slum priced low enough to not eat the money she was making. She tried to sleep on the bus ride but a certain techie kept entering her mind every time she drifted off. She had gotten so used to his voice being in her ear that she heard him even when he was thousands of miles away.

* * *

Since Annie Walker's death over two months go Auggie Anderson had played the part of a grieving friend. He had made the call to Danielle and Michael and it broke his heart to hear such a blood curling scream come out of the once very soft spoke Danielle. He had come into work every day and seemed to live off coffee; the bags under his eyes evidence enough that the Head of Tech Ops was getting nowhere near enough sleep. He kept replaying the last conversation he truly remembered having with Annie.

_There are things I need to say to you….important things…._

That one line recorded on the CIA database for forever more haunted him in his sleep; even though she was alive she was no longer accessible to him and that broke his heart even more. The fact he hadn't held her in two months made his bed seem too large and his apartment seem too empty without her laughter echoing off the walls. Even Mingus didn't seem to do much expect drive him into a deeper depression; he had no way to keep track of the woman he told he would always be in her ear. It was a broken promise; something that didn't sit well with August Anderson. When Joan made her way into his office the heaviness of her steps told Auggie something was wrong.

"You need to take some time off Auggie. You need time to grieve. I talked to Arthur. You are taking a month's vacation whether you want to or not. You are also joining Arthur and I for dinner tonight. I'm making Chicken Parmesan. Dinner's at five and your vacation starts tomorrow."

Auggie had never taken his head phones off but Joan knew he had heard every word he was told by the clenching of his jaw; he was using work to escape the pain of an empty apartment and she knew that; which explained why she was banning him from the DPD. It did however give him time to focus on helping Annie as much as he could off the books.

* * *

When he asked his driver to drop him off at Joan and Arthur Campbell's house he could practically feel the man raise an eyebrow but he was paid well enough to know not to ask questions. He knew when Joan requested him for dinner that it was anything but a request; but he also knew if he didn't show up they would more than likely show up at his apartment and he hadn't let anyone in since Annie had last been there and it wasn't the prettiest of places at the moment. He didn't need his boss to force him to take any more time off than she already was.

Auggie was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the car had stopped moving until his driver spoke to him. Auggie just shook his head and exited the car; grateful when Joan met him halfway to the walkway and started to guide him.

"I'm so glad you came Auggie. There are some things Arthur and I needed to talk to you about that aren't safe to talk about at work; I'm sure you understand." She said barley above a whisper as they made it into the house and Joan sat him down at the bar in the kitchen, handing him a beer from the fridge before sitting down across from him.

"So I'm sure you're wondering the real reason I'm making you take a month off." Joan said, waiting for Auggie to nod before she continued.

"When you leave tomorrow you will use your credit card to purchase a ticket to Glencoe, Illinois. From there you will pay cash for a ticket to Tampa, Florida. At Tampa a man with a private air plane will be waiting for you. He will take you to an unknown island off the coast of the US. While you are crossing an identical plane will crash into the ocean. They will look for you for a week and then pronounce you dead. There are maybe a grand total of thirty people living on the island you are heading too. A man I know as Jacob will meet you once you land. Arthur and I have a cabin there in my deceased sister's name. It is fully paid for and we pay Jacob and his wife Sarah to maintain the cabin, animals and gardens. Jacob and Sarah will help you prepare for winter. It's a lot of work from what they've told us as we're usually never there in the winter but Sarah and Jacob will get you prepared. Maintain darkness for at least five years. I know it's a long time and I can't guarantee that you can come back within five years."

Joan stopped speaking, taking a sip of her glass of wine before continuing.

"Is she worth it Auggie?" she asked, finally. She knew she was asking the man a lot if he wasn't willing to give up his comfortable life for Annie.

The raw emotion that he allowed to cloud his face gave her the answer she needed.

"She'll always be worth it Joan. Will we have power?" he asked, thinking about the technology he was used to working with.

"Somewhat you'll have power before winter hits; once winter hits you're out of luck until almost the middle of March. When you get to Tampa someone is going to pic-pocket your ID and your cell phone; let them. They need to be in the plane when it goes down. The CIA will seize all your assets and cash; give it six months to liquidate and then the entirety will show up; save it in case your location is ever compromised. You won't need much cash where you're headed. You'll grow most of your own food and hunt for food or barter usually. Jacob and Sarah will get you set up on what needs to be done before winter and explain the rest. You need to go home; pack a bag with enough clothes for two weeks. Oh, don't worry about your records by the way. There will be a hand-crank record player there so they will be shipped in about two weeks along with any of Annie's."

Joan knew her two agents well enough to know that they loved their music and she wouldn't force them to an unknown location for years without it. That would just be too cruel. She laughed at her own thoughts before continuing.

"I'm guessing a week's worth of summer clothes and then a week's worth of winter?" Auggie asked, she had mentioned 'what needed to be done before winter' so that meant it would be hard winters for them.

"Yes, I know you have some of Annie's clothes. You may want to grab some for her. She's been in the same two outfits for weeks now." Joan said, letting Auggie know that she was at least somewhat physically ok, which felt like half his burden was lifted off his shoulders. " The first thing that needs to be done when you get there is to take inventory of what is already there and see what needs to be done before winter. The second thing will be to build furniture. There isn't much. A modern day stove and refrigerator but they'll do you no good once the second week of November hits. There is a room that is full of bookcases but I'm not sure what Arthur and I have there and then the animals and the garden. Like I said Jacob and Sarah will help you set up for winter. How soon can you pack a bag?" Joan asked, glancing at her watch before looking at her phone for the second time in two minutes.

"Ten minutes once I get home why?" he asked, downing the last of his beer.

"A seat just opened up for a flight to Glencoe tonight if you want to get a head start." Joan said, smiling at man that had walked into her home so broken. The grin that lite up his face told her his answer.

"Eat first. It doesn't leave until eight. You have time to eat and then for me to get you home and packed." She said, as Arthur finally joined them from upstairs.

"Hey Auggie; I take it Joan has explained your options to you?" he asked, giving the man a slight pat on the back, which he was expecting.

"Yes sir. I leave tonight." He said, as he listened to his boss, no friend, plate his dinner.

"Good. I just emailed a few friends. They'll be meeting Jacob with a new supply truck about the time Annie gets in and speaking of Annie about the time you get on your plane tonight a drop will be made for her with the name 'Catherine Anderson'. I hope I wasn't too presumptuous?" Arthur asked, looking in Auggie's direction to gauge his reaction. The soft look followed by the grin that lit up his face told him he wasn't. "You'll get supply trucks twice a year. Once right before you are snowed in for the winter, which could be anywhere from the second week of October to the second week of November, and once a few weeks after the final snow melts, which is usually in mid-to late March. There will be your basic supplies you need to can foods, etc. but books and notebooks will be sent each time as well. If you have any reading requests write them down as you think of them and give them the list when they come for your supply list. You won't have time for reading until you are stuck for the winter but you'll be snowed in for almost five months of the year so it helps to be prepared. If you read a book a day that'd put you at 150 books a year. Jacob and Sarah will run your supply trucks and help you get prepared for the winter; they are closer into town so if they aren't prepared they can go and buy things. You won't have that luxury. Over-prepare by any means. What you don't use this year you'll use next year. "

Arthur stopped to fix his plate before he returned to the bar, taking the seat across from Auggie.

"You'll have enough medicine in the first truck to last you a year and Sarah will teach Annie enough herbal remedies to get you guys by without a doctor. It will be tough but people have lived like this for hundreds of years…is she worth it Auggie?" he asked, asking the same question his wife had earlier.

"She will always be worth it." Was his only reply as he finished the last decent meal he'd probably eat in a week.

"Good. Then Joan will take you home. Run him by an ATM before you do. You can pull $8,000 out without throwing up any red-flags. Stu will make it look like you purchased a vintage autographed record for that amount to cover the withdrawal and rewired your bank account to allow you to withdraw that much from the account."

The fact Stu was in his bank account didn't sit well with Auggie but he knew he would need the cash when they got there. In an uncharacteristic Auggie move he pulled Arthur into a hug, whispering a 'thank you ' in his ear before following Joan to her car.

When they pulled into the bank he gave Joan his card and his pin; knowing she would need the information off of it to have the CIA 'seize' all his assets. When she turned around and pulled another $8,000 out of her own account and handed it to him he knew they truly had someone in their corner when no one else was.

Joan was kind enough to help Auggie pack, to cut down on his packing time as he packed his own things and she grabbed a bag for Annie.

"Your furniture will be sold but I plan on doing a sweep before the true sweep and gathering any pictures and whatnots and storing them at my house." She said, as she noticed his hands grazed over a picture of Annie that was on his nightstand.

"Thanks Joan; for everything." He replied. Soon enough they had left the apartment and true to his word used his debit card to pay for a ticket to Glencoe, Illinois, getting the last available seat on the flight. When it came time to board Joan pulled Auggie into a tight hug with a whispered 'take care of her', it would be the last time she saw him for at least five years.

* * *

Jessica was exhausted but she was glad she had finally made it to the airport. While she was waiting for her ticket someone bumped into her by accident. A woman with the same dark colored hair and close enough facial features that Annie wouldn't be surprised if it was her long lost twin.

"I apologize miss. I think you dropped this." She said, handing Jessica a think manila envelope. Jessica felt the woman pic-pocket her passport, ticket, and identification but the smile the strange woman gave her told her it was for a reason. "Miss Jean will be glad to know you're alright." Was all her twin said as she left Jessica and walked away towards her original flight. Jessica's eyes immediately lite up in recognition. Jean was a name she had heard Joan use on occasion. Saying it had the same number of letters and had three of the same letters that her birth name had. She managed to slip into the bathroom before opening up the thick envelope.

Inside was $10,000 in cash. A driver's license, birth certificate, and passport for one 'Catherine Anderson', one plane ticket to Crete, a cell phone and a note that read:

_Once you reach Crete a man with a private jet will be waiting for you to take you the rest of the way. When you reach the island the jet takes you to; call the number in the phone a man or woman will answer; tell them your name and location and then destroy the phone_

It wasn't signed but she knew who it was from and she knew that she could trust that it was a good set of identification. The 'Anderson' part told her Auggie probably had something to do with it. A glance at her ticket told her she had twenty minutes to make her flight; making it by the skin of her teeth.

The flight to Crete was shorter than she expected. It only took twelve hours from start to de-boarding the plane and since she only had the bag she had checked to carry on the flight it enabled her to head straight to the entrance.

A man holding a sign that said '_C.A.'_ was waiting for her in the lobby when she walked up to him he gave her a smile before they headed in a different direction in the airport lobby before finally re-boarding a two-seater air plane. Before they took off he told her to get some sleep. They had about a ten hour flight time and there was no point in trying to force mind to stay awake; so Catherine took his advice and did just that.

* * *

When Auggie finally made it to Florida he was exhausted but true to Joan's word, a man walked up to him and picked up his bag. Saying 'hello' before guiding Auggie out towards a small private jet, once inside the jet with the hatch fully latched his pilot turned to him.

"My name is Daniel. Joan told me to tell you that the first leg of Catherine's journey went well and she has started on her second leg as you are about to. We still have another eight hours but I assume you slept on the flight from Illinois?" the man asked, continuing when Auggie gave a verbal 'yes'. "Good. Then your seat is four steps to your right and this," the man paused, handing him a thick book "is the flight manifesto in braille. It's the first half of your supply shipment for the year. I'll be doing two more shipments this year because it will be your first year on the island. After that you are down to two shipments are year. Use this next year to track what you use the most and what you need to make it through the winter and we'll make next year's list based off of that. There are also a few crates of books on homesteading, animal cleaning and raising, food gardening and canning, things that you'll need to survive for the winter. Most books are in English and have a second copy in braille for you so you will be able to keep up with what Miss Catherine is learning. Jacob and Sarah will check it against what they ordered once we get it to the cabin and from there if anything was forgotten it will be shipped via cruise liner and left at their house this first year. After that what was forgotten was forgotten but Jacob and Sarah will explain more in detail what all needs to be done."

From there Daniel left Auggie alone as he started going through the braille version of the flight manifesto. It was thick and heavy and it would probably take him the full four hour flight to go through. Jacob was kind enough to show him where the coffee pot was, before fixing him an overly large travel size coffee mug and began his pre-flight check list.

As Auggie started on the manifesto he flipped to the very last page, whistling as the page number read '300.' From what Joan had told him the house was a two hour drive; how they expected to get all the supplies to the house was beyond him but Joan and Arthur both told him that Jacob and Sarah knew what they were doing so he would have to trust them.


	2. First Day on the Island

**Safe and Sound  
**01. First Day on the Island  
(or Reunion)

Authoress Note: Okay I couldn't wait two days…lol here's your second chapter

By the time Auggie finished scanning the flight manifesto he was _really _glad to have Joan and Arthur in their corner. It was detailed in a way Auggie could appreciate from his days in the army but it was practical in that everything on board would or could come in handy at some point in time. He hadn't fully read it and Daniel said there wasn't a manifesto in a written form other than Braille which meant he and Annie would probably have to spend the first few days taking inventory of what was brought in on the plane and what was already at the house. From what he had gathered from Daniel, Joan and Arthur, it was a spacious two story home that had both a root cellar and an attic. Joan said come winter it would be best to close off the top story to keep the heat from escaping but that would depend on how much fire wood they had stored by winter as to if they could run both fire places on the two floors. He knew there where animals there but he wasn't sure how many and he knew there had to be a garden or room to grow a garden. Daniel's voice coming over the loud speaker startled him he was so lost in trying to get a running start on an inventory as he was directed to put his seatbelt on and that they would be landing momentarily.

When the plane finally came to a stop, Daniel helped Auggie to the door before dropping the hatch.

"Jacob and Sarah are already here. Sarah is going to get you settled in the truck while Jacob and Catherine start helping me unload. This will probably take at least an hour." Daniel said, but all thoughts were lost as soon as Catherine's name was mentioned and he caught the last whiff of her scent, he steeled himself to wait as they had to get the plane unloaded.

"Auggie, my name is Sarah. Will you hand me the manifesto and I'll give it to my husband while you and I go sit in the truck?" she asked, before gently taking the manifesto from him and handing it off to Jacob as he heard Jacob, Daniel and his Annie start unloading the plane.

"Now I know Arthur and Joan have told you a little about this place but I'll tell you more than they probably did. It's wonderful here in the spring and summer time but once winter hits it is brutal. Our first winter here we almost didn't have enough put up; take it from us. The more you have stored the better off you will be. The timing couldn't be better as it's the first of April so that will give us seven months to prepare you; it will be hard work but the first two years are the hardest and after that it seems to slack up a little as you learn to prepare more and more each year so that you have leftovers by the time the next winter rolls around. There's a lot to learn but your Catherine has been here a day already and was already helping me around my home so I think you'll do just fine."

"Thank you Miss Sarah." Auggie said, ever the respectful man to his elders.

"No Miss anything. My name is Sarah, end of story. Me and your Catherine are going to be spending a lot of time together so we might as well be on a first name basis. Now Auggie, can you cook?" she asked, pleased when he gave a positive answer. "Good. Usually the man would do all the hunting and gardening while the woman would do the canning, cooking, sewing, and cleaning but that wouldn't be logical for the two of you. So I'll start you on cooking and cleaning and then teach you how to spin cloth. Lord knows I've done it half asleep myself so that shouldn't be a problem for you. If you're feeling brave I'll teach you how to can but I'd prefer Catherine be there as well because I doubt you want to accidentally pour scalding hot water on yourself and you should be able to at least milk the cows but I'm not foolish enough to send you in after the chickens or the goats, they'd eat your lunch or peck your eyes out!" Sarah said, laughing at the thought, not realizing how much she was throwing at Auggie at one time until she saw his face. "It's not as hard as you think. It will take some adjusting and a learning curve but you both should have everything down pat within two months and be fine to work on your own from there and just meet up with us on the weekends to make sure you're on track."

Sarah and Auggie passed the time going over what was supposed to be on the plane as Annie, Jacob and Daniel finished the last of loading up the heavy-duty truck. When Jacob slid into the driver's seat and Annie plopped herself down in Auggie's lap because of space constraints they headed off on their drive.

"The easiest way to get to the house is to take the fork on the left. It's about an hour and a half's drive but occasionally the road will wash out and you'll have to take the right fork and it will take you twice as long to get there." Jacob said, as they took the left fork and passed the last house they would see until they reached the house that would become Auggie and Annie's home for at least the next five years.

It was only ten thirty in the morning when they reached the beautiful two story house. It was plain white but out here all alone it had a feeling of peace and tranquility that Annie hadn't felt in a long time. It took Jacob, Sarah and Annie about an hour to unload the truck, pilling most of it into the empty living room to sort through later. The only thing that went directly to its position was a bed that Daniel had been able to produce at the last minute, two matching dressers, and two nightstands. It took Jacob and Catherine about thirty minutes to get the bed frame put together and the mattresses added to it. Sarah joined her in helping her make the bed, as it was a brand new California King, which looked small in their new bedroom.

"Enjoy the bed; it is one of the few comforts that you will have. Most people have decent homes out here but so much time is spent in preparation for winter that we don't get to enjoy our homes until winter." Sarah said, it almost sounded wistful but she was a practical woman and left Auggie and Annie with homework before they returned the next day.

"I know you are both exhausted from your trip. Get some sleep. I left you a stew on the stove along with some bread. After you eat explore the house top to bottom so Auggie knows the layout and then start unpacking boxes. If you manage to finish unpacking before you are too tired to continue start taking inventory of what is here. You have a root cellar in the hatch through the floor as well as a walk in pantry through the door to the left of your wood burning stove. If you are too tired we'll do inventory tomorrow. I will be back at five am to help Annie get started. There is a lot to learn and not near enough time. There is one more truck load to get from the dock. We'll pick it up on our way up tomorrow morning." No one could say that Sarah was not a drill master, but they knew it came from years of experience and practicality usually won out over anything else on this island.

As soon as they heard the truck pull way Annie was in Auggie's arms in a matter of seconds as Annie guided them to the couch that was a few steps away, allowing them to fall backwards onto it.

"Annie...I've missed you." The raw emotion that was coming through in his voice told her just how much.

"I'm here Auggie. I'm not going anywhere. We can stay here forever if that's what it takes." She said, before he pulled her to him into a kiss losing themselves in each other for what felt like forever but was only a matter of minutes.

"I don't know about you but I'm hungry; I'm also a bit wired. I slept better on both of my plane rides than I have in months." Annie said, allowing the energy she felt at being in his presence come through in her voice.

"Well then let's eat and then I have an idea or two on what to do about that excess energy." Auggie said, sounding so much more like his older self than he had in the past few months. It felt good just to hear Annie's voice, she felt far too thin but he knew they could fix that with time and a little effort. The stew that Sarah left them was beyond delicious as they ate in a comfortable silence; both to worried about their food than the desire to talk to each other. Once the dishes where washed and put away, Annie dragged Auggie to the room where they had set up the bed; intent on keeping him there for a while.

Annie lay curled up in Auggie's side an hour later as she ran her fingers through the parts of his hair she could reach.

"You still have too much energy. I can feel it radiating off you Anderson." He said, teasing her about her new cover name, even as it made his heart swell.

"I was going to ask you about that, did you have anything to do with the name change on my identification?" she asked, the smile was evident in her voice.

"No, that was all Joan and Arthur but if I'm honest with myself I can't say I hate the sound of it. There is a marriage certificate in with my identification as well. My name didn't change but my birth certificate and country of origin did. I doubt you looked at your passport hard enough to notice it but they may not have changed yours." He said, giving her a kiss on her head before he rolled way to find his pants that he had flung somewhere to the foot of the bed.

Twenty minutes later they had showered and were dressed before they made their way back downstairs.

"Sarah said to explore first and then unpack and take inventory." Annie said, remembering the older woman's instructions from earlier.

"It makes more sense. Why take inventory when we're just about to add to it?" Auggie asked, as he let Annie guide him back to the front door.

"Ok you have the entry way down. When you walk in to the left is an overstuffed couch, and two giant arm chairs with a reading table in front of them. To the right is a doorway which leads to the kitchen which has a partial wall that has bar stools on the living room side. Inside the kitchen is a refrigerator and freezer to the right which are empty, I think they are mainly for looks. To the left is the kitchen table and chairs and probably forty paces back is a wood burning stove off in a corner by itself with wood stacked up beside it. Beside that is an old-style kitchen hearth that has a rod that is holding two iron kettles. Come back to the fridge and the table and take ten steps and to the right is a sink and giant counter and straight ahead is the electric stove. It looks to be a double as it has eight eyes on it and we have two ovens. To the left of that is more counter space and then there is a door…" she opened the door before guiding Auggie inside the walk in pantry. "This pantry seems to be all dried meats. I see venison, pork, beef, turkey but it has all be dehydrated. I also see three dehydrators on a shelf all the way in the back."

The exited the first pantry before making their way down the hallway.

"The first door on the left is the room we slept in. So we'll start with the right." She opened the door to revival what looked like a room that could have been a bedroom but had been converted into another pantry. "On the right is another pantry that is holding canned goods on our left again is another room that is holding several kinds of dried beans, flour, brown sugar, sugar, oatmeal, oats, wheat germ, coffee, instant drink mixes, power bars, wheat, tea leaves several varieties at that, cocoa powder . All of it has a shelf life of at least ten years so we should be okay on that for a while and most of it is in twenty pound bags."

The last door that was downstairs turned out to be their medicine room. It had racks and racks of over-the-counter medicines as well as syringes and vials of medicine that they would inspect later.

From there they turned their attention to the upstairs rooms. It produced their library, which was two bedrooms put into one, a full bathroom, what Annie assumed was a sewing room as it had a spinning wheel and what she assumed was a loom in it as well as a ton of cloth. The last two rooms were left empty, for them to decide what to do with them at a later date if they were there long enough.

When they returned back down stairs Annie guided them through the mountain of boxes back to the couch before she looked out at all that was around her. They needed to get started on going through the boxes but it was such a daunting task that she wasn't sure where to start.

"She said to unpack boxes. The best way to start would be to place each box in the room it goes in and unpack from there." Auggie said ever the logical one when faced with such an overwhelming task. It took them two hours to get the boxes into their respectful rooms with only one of them being able to see but once that was done time seemed to fly by. They started in the medicine room, placing what they could on shelves and sticking the few vials that needed to be refrigerated into the small fridge that was inside their own private pharmacy. The pantry took the longest as the majority of the boxes where for the pantry as they unpacked and reorganized it piece by piece. Their pantry looked almost twice as full when they were finished. Annie left Auggie to unpack the boxes that held clothes and things for their bedroom while she started on unpacking what was for her sewing room.

It took her a while to figure out how to make the cloth bolt holders come out of the wall to add a new bolt but once she figured it out she had the denim bolts as well as the cotton organized by color and feel of the fabric. The thread seemed to take the longest as it was in its own storage container that lined the entire wall, and was divided by color and all the different reds and pinks looked the same to her. About the time she got all her thread organized Auggie had made his way upstairs and was in the doorway listening to her. The last room they unpacked boxes in was the library; the majority of the books that were in this shipment where in braille so she allowed Auggie to place them as she handed them off to her husband, it felt good to call him that, even if the marriage was just their cover story.

The only thing left in the living room by the time they finished where ten large boxes of canning supplies from jars and lids to rings. They couldn't figure out where they went until Annie remembered someone mentioning that the house had a root cellar. Once she located the door to the root cellar that was in the floor she allowed Auggie to hand the boxes down to her one by one, stacking them by the stairs before finally turning on the inside light. The root cellar was almost as big as the house itself in length. It didn't have as many canned goods as the pantry above them but there were still plenty of jarred foods that she assumed Sarah had canned from previous years. She noticed a few jams and jellies among them as well as three wheels of cheese that where coated in the bright red plastic that they were famous for and what she assumed where two cheese presses off in the corner. There were also thirty or so empty barrels that had water-tight sealed lids on them that proved to be empty.

With the inspection of the house finished it was almost eight at night. Deciding on calling it quits for the day and starting on the inventory the next day they fell into a dreamless sleep; glad to be back in each other's arms.


	3. Inventory and Gathering

**Safe and Sound  
**03. Inventory and Gardening

Authoress Note: I'm having to do a lot of research for _Safe and Sound_ as I want my facts to be as close as possible. (_How long to wait until impregnating a dairy cow again; milking cycle; crops etc_) which is why I am trying to get through the 'harvest' period before I post because once it hits winter [[within the story]] the fact digging will be less and the romance more This is the last chapter I have pre-written so it may be an update once a week.

Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs though I wish I owned Auggie

Reviews are love guys! I want to know what you think. **4 Reviews 10 Followers **

Annie managed to wake up at four the next morning; wanting at least a cup of coffee in her system before Sarah showed up and put her to work. Walking into the kitchen she found a Bunn style coffee maker, scooping five scoops of ground coffee into the filter and then adding enough water to make twenty cups of coffee. She had a feeling they would go through most of it before the morning was over. As the coffee brewed she made her way to upstairs library; finding a book titled '_Homesteading: The In's and Out's_' turning to the first chapter and began reading as the smell of coffee sifted throughout the house. The first chapter was on gardening but Annie skipped over that to go to the chapter titled 'Canning' as Sarah said that they would start on canning that day and she wanted to know what she was getting in to.

Every vegetable or fruit had its own processing time and how many bushels or pounds would turn into how many quarts or pints. It was a lot of information but she was sure that once she got started it would be easier to process the information in her head. A glance at the clock told her it was '4:30 AM' as she slipped into the kitchen, pouring two cups of coffee just as Auggie walked into the kitchen.

"I smell coffee." He said, feeling his way to her before wrapping an arm around her and giving her a chaste kiss before taking the cup of coffee from her. He took a sip before allowing her to guide him to a chair in the living room before he graced his taste buds with another sip of the hot liquid. "What time are they getting here again?" he asked, touching the hands on his watch as he asked.

"Five. There's time to finish our coffee and get a quick shower before they show up." Annie said, enjoying the silence that feel as they sat in the dark trying to wake up.

Just as they finished their shower they heard Sarah and Jacob enter the house. It bothered Auggie that they just walked in but he knew how life on islands worked; he guessed they would just have to get used to it. Auggie finished pulling his shirt over his head as they walked out into the kitchen. He could hear Annie sitting in the living room with them enjoying a cup of coffee as they talked about the plans for the day.

"Morning." Auggie said, smiling at Annie when she handed him a cup of coffee and guided him to the couch she had been sitting at.

"Good morning August." Jacob said, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he went to refill his cup as well as his wife's.

"Five more minutes then we need to get started. Auggie, if you don't mind you're going to help Jacob dry some more meat once we finish unloading the truck. You don't have near enough put up for the winter." Sarah said, chuckling at Auggie's face at the thought of drying meat; it wasn't an enjoyable task but it had to be done.

It took them only an hour to finish unloading the truck as they had a better idea of where things went this time. Annie was surprised to see more canning supplies but she had also not seen the size of the garden that was in their back yard. The thing that excited Auggie where the thirty bags of popcorn seeds; each weighed fifty pounds which would guarantee that they would have enough for a few years. Seven-hundred and fifty pounds of popcorn seeds was a lot.

Once everything was placed in its proper place Sarah grabbed Annie, taking four large baskets out of the meat pantry before leaving the men to work on drying more meat. Once outside Annie turned to Sarah as she set down the baskets at the end of the porch. It allowed Annie to look out at the expansive garden that ran though her back yard. It was the largest garden she had ever seen. She truly didn't know half of what was out there.

"First we need to gather the eggs and milk the cows or they'll be upset." Sarah said, laughing at her own joke before leading Annie into the barn, pointing out where the house connected to the barn so that the animals could be taken care of in the winter.

"Milking a cow is easy enough, just being sure to clean off their udders before you try to milk them and be gentle with them or they'll rebel. Now I'm sure you know that they have had to have had a calf to be producing milk. It's best to mate the cows' one off, one on. You'll usually always want a cow to be pregnant and one that has just given birth to keep up your milk production but come winter if you don't drink much milk it'd be perfect for cheese making." She said as she lead them into the barn, grabbing the milk pail and taking a seat on a low stool that was positioned next to the mother cow before thoroughly wiping off her udders and beginning the milking process. "You have three Holstein cows which will produce about 80 lbs a day on a 2 time a day milking schedule _each_ and that is not counting what the calves will use. One is pregnant right now; one just gave birth last week. I kept the calf; usually they are separated after a day but I figured you could use a beef cow as it's a steer. The last cow is still producing milk but will enter her dry period in roughly one-hundred and twenty days. She will need two months off before you need to put her in with the bull and impregnate her. That gives you two milk cows for the next four months and about the time one girl dries up, the other will give birth. The milk is going to be best to use for cheese or yogurt expect for what you'll drink on a daily basis; always try and keep a gallon or two in your fridge at all times; especially if you like to bake."

As the older lady continued to milk she continued to talk.

"They'll take thirty-five to fifty gallons of water a day; which is piped in from the spring down the hill. They also take fifty pounds of silage and forty pounds combined of hay and feed. Silage is fermented corn, wheat or hay with the stalks and leaves all of which you can get from your garden. The hay and feed are already stored for the winter in the loft." She said, pointing above her head as she moved on to milking the next cow. "Once I teach you you'll be making cheese on the weekend; you can get six lbs of cheese out of five gallons of milk. If you get one-hundred and sixty pounds of milk a day that will equal thirty-two cheese wheels a day; so if you only do it one day a week that'll get you two-hundred and twenty four rinds of cheese. I know you won't need all of it but you can use it to barter in the market but I'd rather you make cheese all in one day and be over-prepared; besides if we really do get two-hundred out of it you can let the rest of it age for the next few years and they'll be amazing come a few winters down the road."

Between the three cows that had just given birth to a cow or were pregnant they managed to get eighty pounds of milk between the two cows; carefully taking the gallons of milk back into the house and placing them into the three large milk containers that where sitting on the kitchen floor.

When they reentered the barn, instead of going towards the cows this time they returned to the chickens. There were thirteen egg-laying females, which awarded them fourteen eggs, which were placed in a basket before being put inside the kitchen on the counter before finally turning their attention to the garden that was laid out in their back yard.

"We'll start with what is going to be canned or pickled. It's best to leave what goes into barrels until right before the first freeze so they are as large as they can get. If you can do it just right they'll hold all winter. Things like carrots, potatoes and onions can just go into barrels as they are picked because they won't go bad as quickly and it will allow us time to grow more." Sarah said, grabbing a basket and motioning Annie to do the same.

Sarah started on picking the cucumbers while she directed Annie to pick tomatoes. When both baskets where full they returned them to the house, dragging two barrels up from the basement before emptying their baskets into them and returning to the garden to pick more. When both barrels where full, two more where brought up and they swapped to squash and purple onions. The onions where then washed and placed back into the basement with a sealed lid before returning to pick the white onions and shallots. When the barrels were filled with shallots and onions they made their way back into the house both the shallots and onions where placed in barrels they pulled a few older onions and began making a vegetable stew; using a few of the canned products from the last growing season before Annie washed up and headed to the outside meat drying room. Auggie and Jacob had finished hanging the last of the two deers' that where shot the previous day. Auggie turned in her direction as she stepped into the room.

"Lunch is done if you want to wash up." She said, stepping clear of her husband as he went to give her a hug. "You're covered in deer blood, love." Annie said, giggling at the disgusted look on his face before he smelled himself, outright laughing at the scrunching of his nose.

Annie went back to the kitchen; adding the tomato sauce to the vegetable stew and letting it simmer before Auggie and Jacob made their way into the kitchen, finding seats at the kitchen table as Annie watched the stew, smiling when Sarah handed her a glass of iced tea, smiling at her before helping her ladle out the soup into soup bowls.

"I do have good news for you both. Aside from the meat we could just pick the garden twice and you'd be set for winter. I had forgotten how big of a garden I planted last year and on top of that you'll still be getting shipments from off the island anyway. With that being said, we could have this garden put up in another two weeks and plant another one before the next freeze." She said, noticing the smiles that Auggie was directing at Annie.

"We'll have this garden up in two weeks. That will give you enough time to get another garden down and packed up. I'll help you can this first garden but once we plant your second one you should be able to handle it as you'll get enough rain here to not have to worry about watering it. When it starts raining I won't be able to come up during the rain or after so today I'm going to show you both a cold can pack and a hot; from there tomorrow I'll show you how to kill, pluck and skin a chicken and I'll find the books that are here on canning so you'll know what to do per crop and what to place directly into the cellar. Tomorrow I'm also going to show you how to make cheese and if you turn out to enjoy that you can always sell it at the market until winter. Cheese is a commodity here. Wednesday we'll spend it in the woods. I know you're a good shot but I want to make sure you're a decent hunter and know how to field dress and skin a deer."

At this Annie laughed before turning to Sarah.

"I can hunt with my eyes closed. I grew up hunting; I can dismantle and mantle a gun in under a minute. It was the one consent in my life." Annie said, smiling at Sarah when she grinned in her direction.

"That's good. That will let me spend some time in my own garden. So after Tuesday you'll be on your own until the following Monday just don't forget to milk the cows; technically you could let them go without milking but they have gotten used to it. I'll try and meet with you every Monday so that I can track your progress and help you plant when it's time to replant your garden and to make sure you're on track for winter."

Talk died down as Sarah cut the loaf of bread she brought with her before dishing it out with the stew bowls. For not having meat in it the vegetable soup turned out to be delicious and kept them warm enough to return to their work until the middle of the afternoon as Annie was introduced to cold and hot pack canning. She quickly decided that she liked the cold pack better but understood that a hot pack was essential for certain foods.

Sarah helped her can the tomatoes and cucumbers; by the time they were finished they had diced tomatoes, skinned whole tomatoes, a quick salsa mix, tomato sauce and a tomato paste canned as they were placed on the counters to make sure the seals would hold. As far as the cucumbers went they canned several jars of whole cucumbers, several sliced cucumbers, and quarts and quarts of different kinds of pickles that were added to the mountains of jars on the counter.

By the time Sarah and Jacob left there was still two hours' worth of day light left.

"Hey Auggie, do you want to go fishing with me? There's still a few hours' worth of sun light left." She asked, remembered seeing fishing pools in the back; but one look at his face told her that he wasn't feeling up to it.

"Why don't we just go lay down?" she asked instead, knowing she would have to make up for taking a rest this early in the afternoon.

"That sounds good. I didn't think skinning and hanging a deer would take this much out of me." He said, allowing his head to drop onto her shoulder before snaking an arm around her waist.

"Well it's good we won't have to work this hard all the time. I do plan on doing the second garden but I want to make sure we have enough to make it through the winter but I think with the canned goods from the store and then what I'll can over the next month or so will do us; but I'd rather Sarah say we're ready than take my word for it." She said, yawning as she finished her soup before dragging Auggie to their bedroom.

She barely gave him time to strip out of his shirt and pants before pulling him down onto the bed with her, allowing his arms to pull her to him.

"I love you Mrs. Anderson." He said, placing a light kiss to her hair, smiling into it when she laughed as his fingers ghosted over her skin.

"I love you too Mr. Anderson." She said before throwing a leg over his body and curling deeper into his side as he tightened his grip on her as they drifted into an early afternoon nap.

Annie was glad that they only slept for an hour because it gave her roughly two to three hours to fish before she had to milk the cows for the second time that day. Deciding to let Auggie sleep she only woke him to tell him she was going to the river to fish before heading out the back door, grabbing a book off her nightstand as she went. Finding a worm box by the door pleased her; it meant she wouldn't have to dig in the dirt again until the next day when she started on the garden again. Gathering a can full of worms, she grabbed the tackle box before grabbing two of the fishing pools, planning on using the second pole as a 'stand-alone' pole. Hopefully she could catch twice as many fish that way.

She didn't enjoy the task of hooking the worms but it had to be done if they wanted fish to eat for the winter months. Finding steady enough rocks to hold up her secondary pole was the hardest part of it all as the rocks kept slipping from where she had them placed but she finally figured out a way to keep her secondary pole steady. It didn't take long for her to catch her first fish on her primary pole and her secondary pole caught a fish shortly after her first one did. By the end of the first hour she had managed to catch seven salmon and four trout and by the time she had finished fishing for the day she was up to twelve salmon and nine trout that needed to be cleaned and then frozen.

Annie strung all twenty-one fish on a line before taking them back up to the house and stringing them across the back porch before entering the house, kicking her boots off at the door, smiling at a disheveled Auggie that had just exited from their bedroom.

"Hey Aug's. I just got back from fishing." She said, letting him know that she was closer than he thought and that she had returned to the house.

"How many fish did you catch?" he asked, reaching an arm out in her direction, smiling when she led him to the kitchen, the sounds of her sock-clad feet sliding across the floor as they entered the kitchen.

"Twenty-one. Twelve salmon and nine trout; I was going to start heating up the soup and bread for dinner and then go start fileting the fish." She said, smiling when Auggie pulled her close to his body, nuzzling her neck with his beard that had grown over the past few days.

"That's a good catch. I pretty much have the kitchen down pat if you want to start working on the fish. It will take you at least an hour to filet them and by then dinner should be warmed up." Auggie said, proving his point by pulling the pot that had been set on the counter to reheat on the stove before adding the bread to the oven to heat up, glad that the stove had been equipped with braille dials before his arrival.

"Ok Mr. Wife." Annie said, laughing at the sour look that crossed Auggie's face as she darted back out the back door and began the rather quick process of de-heading and de-scaling the fish; thankful that she had pretty much lived on fish the year she was traveling around the world. She threw the fish filets into a wicker basket before discarding the fish heads and scales into the compost box that was built into her fence before taking the basket of filets back into the house.

"I'm done with the filets. If you'll give me a few minutes to get these into freezer bags I'll serve up the soup and then go milk the cows." Annie said, noticing that Auggie had already pre-served their meals into the bowls from earlier and had set them on the table as she began placing the filets into freezer bags, dating them before going into the underground cellar and throwing the filets inside before returning to the meal that awaited her upstairs.

"We've only been here two days and you're working yourself hard." Auggie said, taking her hand from across the table as she began to eat the soup.

"I know but I happen to agree with Sarah. The more we get done now the less we have to worry about the closer to the winter month's it gets. It will also guarantee that we'll have enough put up for our first winter. Even Joan told me that she'd rather we be over-prepared than under-prepared this first winter." Annie said, knowing that Auggie knew what she said. The main problem was he wasn't the one helping with most of the preparations like his time in the military and Special Forces had trained him to do.

"I know. I was just hoping to get to spend some time with you soon. I didn't see you for three months and as soon as I get to see you again we're forced into tough winter preparations to survive the winters out here." Auggie said, letting out a frustrated breathe before he began eating his dinner.

"I'm yours for the rest of the night Auggie. No more work tonight. Promise." Annie said, leaning over to give Auggie a kiss before turning her attention to her dinner.

When dinner was finished and the dishes washed and put away Auggie pulled Annie by the hand; guiding her to their bedroom without saying a word. He allowed his knees to hit the back of the bed before pulling Annie down with him, laughing when she let out a surprised laugh before he claimed her lips. Annie tried to fight him for dominance but the grip that tightened on her arms told her that was not what Auggie needed from her tonight.

"I love you Annie Anderson. Don't you ever doubt that." He said, his breathing erratic before he began trailing a row of kisses down her neck; nipping at the sensitive spots he knew where ticklish. "If we ever get back to the states I want to correctly change your name; proposal and all."

When Annie reached up to claim his mouth again he knew the time for talking had come to an end.


	4. Harvesting and Learning

**Safe and Sound  
03. ** Harvesting and Learning

Authoress Note: It will be April 7th before I can post anything as I am over on my internet usage. So you should have a few chapters coming your way unless I can find another way to post them before then!

Time seemed to go by quickly on the island for Auggie and Annie. They had already been on the island for three weeks and had finally fallen into a routine that seemed to work for them. The first thing done every morning was the milking of the cows and then the egg gathering. From there breakfast was made and then Auggie went to work on hanging meat, which he could now do by himself as long as Jacob or Annie processed the meat for him while Annie went on to any myriad of things that needed to be done to prepare for winter.

Joan had told them it would be hard work and there was no doubt about it in that regard. They usually worked from sun up into well into the evening most days which left them little time for recreational tasks but they both knew survival came first and foremost. They had taken the advice of Sarah and took Sunday's "off" only working on tasks inside on Sundays.

Currently it was there third Sunday on the island. Sunday's where also a blessing because they meant they could sleep in and not have to worry about waking up before the sun came up. Annie however found it hard to adjust to sleeping in only one day of the week so she was usually awake by five thirty at the latest and up and out of the bed by six while Auggie tended to sleep until eight or nine. That was fine with Annie however as Sunday had turned into her cheese making and canning days. When Annie woke up this Sunday she grabbed a slice of bread from a loaf she had made the week before and then started making the coffee. When the coffee was finished she poured herself a cup and then began a mental checklist as well as a paper checklist of what all she needed to get done that day.

With her list complete and her coffee finished the first thing she decided on doing was her usual morning routine of milking the cows and gathering the eggs. Milking the three cows had started out slow but once Annie figured out the rhythm that went with it she managed to have all three milked in under an hour. One hundred and twenty pounds of milk later and a basket full of eggs she managed to get all the milk inside into their proper holding containers before she started the slow process of making cheese. Auggie soon joined her in the adventure of cheese making as he watched her eye four pots of boiling milk as she added the inculcator and then waited for the curds to form so that she could cut the whey into cubes. From there it was gathered and added into the cheese presses where they would stay for several days.

When all was said in done by four that afternoon Annie had managed to have twelve wheels of cheese into the cheese presses as Auggie worked on figuring out the layout of the upstairs and downstairs of the house they would be in for years. As the sun finally set that day Annie managed to finish up all she had been hoping to accomplish that day and then some. Because Annie had been working around three hundred degree temperatures that day she hardly had any time to talk to Auggie for fear of her safety but now that it was all said and done and the day was coming to a close she went in search of her husband.

When Annie found him he was upstairs in the book room, working on categorizing and indexing the books that where stored within their two room personal library. He was taking advantages of the electricity while they had it and was creating a log of all the books that where in their library.

Auggie smiled in her direction when he heard her familiar soft foot steps enter the library.

"How'd your cheese marathon go?" he asked, setting aside his laptop as she sat down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It went well; I have twelve that are in the cheese press. Those will come out Thursday and then twelve more will go in. I may see if we can get some more cheese presses so I can do more than twelve at a time; I basically want to get to where I'm canning three or four days a month and doing cheese every Sunday that way we have enough to barter with in the market. I was thinking maybe next Sunday we could go check out the market; get our faces known that way people don't start talking about us. It's better for them to know us and be intentionally vague if someone comes asking around than to not know us but happen to mention the couple up the mountain that only comes down once or twice a year. Once they get to know us we could probably come down only once or twice next year but for now protecting ourselves is the game." She said, sighing at the turn her life had taken in only six short weeks; it felt like they had been on island for a year already but she knew she would adjust eventually.

"That sounds logical. I've gotten about as far as I can on cataloging tonight; my brain is rebelling at working on a computer this long I've been at this since eight." He said, rubbing his eyes, an old habit of his from when he had his eye sight.

"You used to pull a lot longer days at the DPD Augs." Annie said, smiling at Auggie's show of how relaxed he was there. "Back to the village thing; Sarah told me most females here cover their heads anyway so you'd be the only one they'd recognize as my face will have to be covered when we go into town; but I'll still be able to sell and barter and what not so that is definitely a plus."

Auggie nodded his head in agreement before his stomach let out a loud whine in protest for dinner earning him a laugh from Annie as he had worked straight through lunch.

Dinner was a quiet but pleasant affair before they retired to the fireplace in their living room; curling up on the couches together with a book. Annie had chosen something non-related to homesteading as that had been all she had been reading since they set foot on the island while Auggie was working his way through a technical manual for a computer program that Annie would never have any hopes of understanding. It wasn't long before Auggie set his book down an Annie started reading aloud from _'Arabian Nights'_ until they both drifted off into a light slumber in each other's arms.


End file.
